I'm wondering at what point do you decide that a child's sleep issues are not part of the adjustment to a new home, but are actually sleep problems.
Adam is home almost 5 months and is 22 months old. He is doing amazingly well in almost every area - sleep being the remaining hurdle.
Falling asleep is not his problem - staying asleep is. On a rare "good" night, he awakens 3 times. Usually, its more like 5, and on a very bad night, every hour to every 90 minutes. He definitely wants to be asleep. When he finds himself awake and doesn't fall instantly back to sleep, he seems very frustrated and within about a minute of awakening is into a tantrum of frustration, crying and kicking me in his anger. We are co-sleeping both for the bonding and because I get a tiny bit more sleep with him in the same bed than I would having to actually physically get out of bed and walk to another room five times a night.
He is napping normally at daycare, between 90 minutes and two hours, and usually naps two hours on the weekends.
I am exhausted.
Is this still a normal part of his adjustment, or should I look for help?
How Old is Adam?
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4 comments:
In the sense of time, 5 months has been short. Really just a drop in the bucket for a toddler to adapt to a WHOLE new life. So, it sounds like he is doing beautifully. From what you describe, his nap time (lenght) seems just like his night time sleep pattern (90 minutes to 2 hours of time). Some thoughts to help him self-soothe: has he attached to a particular "teddy" or stuffed animal? If not, I would encourage this as a transitional object. Is he still on a bottle for attachment or liquid intake? If so, would he use a pacifier or binky to help him soothe himself to get back to sleep? How about sleeping with some soft music on, like soft instrumental lullabies? Does your touch help calm him? What if you read up on baby/infant massage and try to implement some of these techniques? I would initiate the massage techniques both when he is awake in the daytime for a few minutes several times a day, see what he likes, and then try it at night. What if you hold him real tight his back to your stomach, on your sides in the bed so he can feel your breathing and try to regulate his breathing and comfort. Just some ideas.
try getting him out of your bed. Either put his crib in your room or get a bed side sleeper but get him out of the bed. I would be willing to bet either body heat, motion, noise(possibly snoring), or something liek that is the culprit. It will probably be difficult to get him to sleep out of the bed at first (why we never started in the first place) but after about a week I bet you both sleep better.
The other thing is it is most likely seperation anxiety. I am a stay at hoem mom but still we find that Emaline will wake up a few times a night right now (she is only 8 months old though)just to make sure we are still there. I just reach over to her sleeper and stick her pacifier in her mouth or a water bottle if need be and she goes right back to sleep. I have found if I pick her up it only wakes her up more and takes longer to get he rback down.
Hope that helps!
I'd start by asking your social worker about it. They should be able to help you determine what you should do. Hope you get some sleep soon--it can be so hard to be sleep deprived (as you know).
I am so sorry, I knowhat it is like to be that sleep deprived and it is tough. I have no idea what advice to give but I hope it gets better!
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